This is what I’m using daily to conduct global operations. This list comes hard-wrought from the repeated lessons of experience, and it may prove useful to you.
Luggage
First, luggage. I travel away from home between 4 and 8 months per calendar year, so rock-solid, durable, reliable luggage is essential.
- 1x “Personal Item” (carried on plane, placed under seat):
- 1x Hand Luggage (carried on plane, stored overhead):
- Pelican 1510 Protector Case
- ca. $150 USD
- lifetime warranty/replacement
- a bit heavy at 5.4kg empty
- covered in cool stickers
- …to be replaced by Pelican 1535 Air Case (ca. $200 USD)
- which is only 3.9kg empty
- or possibly replaced instead with matching Rimowa hand luggage
- 1x Checked Luggage (checked in to cargo hold):
Optics
Seeing is believing. The Sony mirrorless (replacing my Canon dSLR) was one of the most life-altering upgrades I’ve ever undertaken—I carry it everywhere I go because of the size. It’s also the nicest lens I’ve ever owned, which goes a long way.
- Sony Cyber-shot RX1R
- $2800 USD
- Mirrorless (and tiny for a full-frame!)
- fixed Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2 prime
- full-frame 35mm sensor
- replaced my previous camera, a Canon EOS 5D mk3
- …with a gorgeous handmade “Hemingway” Leather Camera Strap
- Nikon Travelite EX 8x25 Binoculars
- Supereyes B005 1X-200X Handheld USB Digital Microscope
- ca. €29 EUR
- surprisingly useful
Communications and Development
Descartes, primary phone - iPhone 7+ (256GB, get-fucked black (natch))
Kant, backup phone - iPhone 6S+ (128GB, Space Gray)
Cerberus, watch - Apple Watch (first-generation) 42mm, Stainless Steel
Cyan, tablet - Apple iPad mini 4 (Wi-Fi + 4G LTE, Space Gray), 128GB
tyrell, primary workstation - MacBookPro11,3 (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013), 2.6, 16GB, 1TB
rabotnik, secondary workstation - MacBook8,1 (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015), 8GB, 500GB, Space Gray
batty, secure workstation - MacBookAir6,2 (13-inch, Early 2014), 8GB, 500GB
Clothing
I wear the same thing every day. It makes packing really simple. The Patagonia down hoodie is easily the best clothing investment I have ever made.
- American Apparel Fine Jersey Crewneck T-Shirt Model 2001, black, XL
- ca. $4 USD in quantity
- I own ca. 150 of these, because I hate doing laundry.
- Lee Men’s Comfort Waist Custom Relaxed-Fit Pleated Pant, black, 40x32
- Hanes Men’s Cushion Crew Sock, black, 10-13
- Fruit of the Loom Men’s Fashion Briefs, XL
- Patagonia Men’s Ultralight Down Hoody, black, XL
- $350 USD
- Packs into a small included bag the size of a grapefruit.
- Actually lack-of-credibility incredibly warm given its size and weight. This is my only winter jacket in Berlin.
- Effectively waterproof—as long as you’re not in a storm at sea).
- Make sure you get the hoodie one.
- Lifetime warranty/replacement. (Patagonia rules.)
- Dr. Martens 1460 Vintage Boot (Made in UK), black
- ca. £195 GBP
- The UK-made ones have to be specially sought, the normal ones are now made in China and Thailand.
Supporting Devices and Accessories
- Apple EarPods
- For bundled earbuds, these blow my mind. I actually replace them with the same model when they get lost or too dirty.
- Jawbone JAMBOX BIG Wireless Bluetooth Speaker, red
- I ❤️ this thing.
- ca. $189 USD
- Brookstone Portable Projector
- ca. $399 USD
- get a suction-cup camera mount (with tripod connection screw on top) to go along with this.
- Don’t forget a Lightning-to-HDMI adapter from Apple.
- AIAIAI TMA-1 DJ Headphones
- ca. $250 USD
- (I cannot strongly recommend AIAIAI headphones, as yet.)
- now discontinued
- Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930
- ca. €119 EUR
- now discontinued, replaced by G533 (ca. €149 EUR)
- this line is not very durable - beware
- Zoom H4 Handy Recorder
- ca. £249 GBP
- now discontinued
- 16bit/44.1kHz, 24bit/96kHz
- integrated stereo mic and combo XLR+1/4” jacks
- takes SD card and 2X AA batteries
- CW&T Pen, Type-A
- ca. $160 USD
- I literally threw away every other pen I owned the day this arrived.
- A whole lot of USB charging gear
- 1x Anker Astro 3 2. Gen 12,000mAh External USB Battery
- 2x Anker PowerCore+ mini, 3350mAh Lipstick-Sized Portable USB Charger
- 1x SUPEREX PB-S502WI4B 11,200mAh External USB Battery
- takes 4x standard 18650 lithium rechargeable batteries
- 4x Spare 18650 batteries for SUPEREX
- Anker 60W 10-Port USB Wall Charger, PowerPort 10
- ca. $34 USD
- 10(!) high-current auto-sensing powered USB ports
- A USB Type A to USB Type C cable
- This allows me to run my MacBook from the 2A port of the SUPEREX for ca. 17 hours unplugged. It won’t charge while the Mac is on, but it will keep it from using up the internal battery and will recharge it while the Mac is asleep in my bag.
- Universal AC Outlet Surge Protector
- ca. $35 USD
- 8 powered USB, plus 8 sockets that will take any country’s plug
- useful because I have about 50/50 US and EU cables/devices
- I think I will never again buy a power strip without universal outlets.
- This saves me having to carry more than 1x travel outlet adapter: simply plug in the universal power strip’s source cable with single adapter.
- …and a metric assload of USB Type A Lightning and USB Type A Micro-USB cables.